ATLANTA — A gay rights group has filed a federal lawsuit in Atlanta challenging the state of Georgia's constitutional ban on same-sex marriages.

Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of seven people and seeks class action status. They are suing the state registrar, the clerk of Gwinnett County Probate Court and a Fulton County Probate Court judge.

Georgia voters in 2004 overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage. The ban was challenged in courts by gay rights groups who targeted the wording of the ballot question, but the state Supreme Court ultimately ruled in 2006 that the vote was valid.

The state constitution prohibits same-sex marriage and says such marriages performed in other states aren't legally recognized in Georgia.